The global telecom industry celebrated its most influential innovations and leaders as the GSMA announced the winners of the 31st annual Global Mobile Awards during Mobile World Congress 2026 in Barcelona.
The prestigious awards, widely known as the GLOMOs, recognized groundbreaking technologies, transformative digital initiatives, and individuals shaping the future of the mobile ecosystem.
More than 30 awards were presented across six categories, with winners selected by a panel of over 250 independent experts from around the world. The awards highlighted both major industry players and emerging innovators that are accelerating progress in connectivity, artificial intelligence, digital inclusion, and mobile services.
Industry Leaders and Global Achievements Recognized
The Chairman’s Award honored the efforts to maintain global connectivity during times of crisis. It was jointly presented to Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, and Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognized Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, for his long-standing contributions to the global telecommunications industry. Meanwhile, the Government Leadership Award was presented to the Vietnam government for its strong commitment to digital transformation and connectivity expansion.
Major Technology and Network Innovation Winners
The Mobile Tech category showcased cutting-edge innovations shaping the telecom infrastructure of the future.
LG Uplus received the CTO Choice Award for its ixi Guardian end-to-end security suite designed to protect telecom AI agents. The company also won the Best Network Security and Fraud Prevention award for the same solution.
Huawei secured the Best Mobile Network Infrastructure award for its UWB AAU series that delivers enhanced performance and efficiency for next-generation networks.
The Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough award went to Cohere Technologies for its Pulsone Multi-G platform supporting Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) and non-terrestrial networks.
In the emerging innovators category, Cumucore won Best Digital Tech Breakthrough for companies with under $100 million in annual revenue for its Time Sensitive Network over 5G solution.
The Best AI-Powered Network Solution award was presented to China Mobile and Huawei for their AI plus Network operational transformation project.
Digital Services and AI-Powered Platforms
The Digital Everything category recognized innovations in services and enterprise solutions powered by mobile networks.
Telkomsel and Huawei won Best Mobile Operator Service for Connected Consumers for Jaringan Prioritas, which ensures guaranteed connectivity in high-density environments.
A collaboration between China Telecom, ZTE, AgiBot, and DroidUp won Best Private Network Solution for their EasyOn 5G-A RobotNet platform designed for humanoid robotics networks.
The Best AI-Enabled Customer Experience award was presented to e&, Amdocs, and NVIDIA for their Agentic AI customer experience transformation initiative.
Device Innovation and Smartphone Awards
In the device category, leading smartphone makers and connected device innovators received recognition for their latest technologies.
Apple won Best Smartphone for the Apple iPhone 17 Pro series, while Samsung Electronics captured the Best in Show award for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The Disruptive Device Innovation award went to Honor for advancing silicon carbon battery technology in commercial devices.
Meanwhile, Infinix won the Best Entry-Level Device under $150 for its HOT 60 Pro+ smartphone.
Tech for Good and Social Impact
The Tech4Good category highlighted initiatives using mobile technology to address societal challenges.
Dots for Inc. won the Digital Inclusion and Usage-Gap Impact award for the DC Box Network, a village-scale digital hub designed to connect underserved rural communities across Africa.
The Best Mobile Innovation for Climate Action award was presented to K-water for its AI-powered smart water network management platform.
The newly renamed #ChangeTheFace Award recognized Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, founder and CEO of W4.org, for her work promoting diversity and inclusion across the technology sector.
Expansion of Regional GLOMO Awards
In addition to the global awards, the GSMA also announced the launch of several regional GLOMO initiatives to highlight innovation across specific markets.
The first regional event, GLOMOs LATAM, will take place in Mexico City during the M360 LATAM 2026 event in May.
The organization will also host the inaugural GLOMOs Africa during MWC Kigali 2026 in June, celebrating digital innovation and efforts to close the mobile internet usage gap across the continent.
In Asia, the existing Asia Mobile Awards will transition into GLOMOs Asia and will be presented during Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2026. With new categories reflecting trends such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, and digital inclusion, the GLOMO Awards continue to highlight the innovations shaping the future of the global mobile industry.
SHAFANA FAZAL